They Rise Like A Phoenix
by Like A Dove
Summary: As Zuko's eyes turn to her, full of trust, she knows she's in the most dangerous position of her life. Katara has made a promise, and she intends to keep it.


**A/N: This is an after Zuko joins the Avatar Season 3 AU. Enjoy and, as always, please remember to review and let me know what you thought!**

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The scream that tore from his throat was unlike any sound Katara had heard before. Zuko- serious, quiet and focused Zuko- was clutching his uncle's blood drenched tunic with one fist and pounding his other in the sand. Rain streamed around them and Katara, who barely had the strength to stand on her two feet after what she had just gone through, inched towards the boy. She didn't have the heart to tell him what he already knew, that if you turned over Iroh's body you would find charred flesh and a scorch mark stretched across his back. Killed by his niece's lightning, her curse she inflicted upon the world.

Zuko screamed again, a long and drawn out cry of anguish that was cut off when the boy started to sob. He crouched over Iroh's body; arms folded across his chest, eyes squeezed shut. Katara stumbled forward and slumped down on the sand next to him. She moved to wrap an arm around his shoulder when he viciously shoved her away, not bothering to look at her when she fell backward unceremoniously into the wet sand. She sat there for a long moment, too startled to be angry. A wave of fear swept over her. Not for herself- the ocean was fifteen feet away and rain continued to pour from the sky- but for _him._ She had barely known how to handle the Zuko she had been around 24 hours ago, and the man in front of her was completely new, torn apart by grief and overwhelming sadness. The worst part was she understood how he was feeling, to have someone you loved dearly ripped out of your life forever, but she had no idea what to say to him. So she watched him. He covered his face with his hands and pulled at the wet hair that stuck to his face and neck.

He surprised her when he stood suddenly from his crouching position and began to blast fire out of his fists at nothing in particular. Then he began to scream again, his hands twisting into his hair as he shouted out threats at no one and breathed a long stream of fire, expressing his rage through his element.

Katara could almost hear the warning bells go off in the back of her mind. Zuko was unstable, dangerous, and unpredictable. It would be best to keep her distance, to stay safe. But it would also be stupid. She approached him, a look of slight apprehension on her face as she reached out and grasped his shoulder and elbow. She took on a firm stance in case he tried to throw her off again. He immediately jerked his arm out of her grasp – she forgot how much stronger he was then her physically, even if their talents in bending were well matched—and stared down at her, his face a mask of agony. He began to back away but she followed, her hand reaching out to grab his in what she hoped was a firm grip. He was shaking, his breaths ragged. "He's…he's…" His chest began to heave and his shoulders began to shake. Katara said nothing, she just continued to hold his hand and stare up into his face. She still had nothing to say, so instead she chose to be _there_. He might not be able to understand words at his state, but he could understand the presence of another human being.

In one long step he was clutching her to his body, both hands fisted into the fabric of her traveling dress. He buried his face in her neck and she felt his hot tears drip onto her bare skin. One of her hands rubbed soothing circles into his back while the other reached up and stroked the back of his neck. Then it's as if his knees buckled and both of them sank onto the wet sand, a tangle of arms, legs and tears. His face was pressed against her shoulder and she rested her head atop of his, her hand continuing to stroke the back of his head and neck.

She didn't know how she'd been able to keep her own tears at bay for so long but finally they began to stream from her eyes like the rain streaming from the sky. She tried not to tremble or choke on the emotion gathering at the back of her throat but finally she did, and in that moment Katara felt very, very young.

They sat like that for a long time, until Zuko's grip on her dress began to loosen, his face pulling away from her shoulder. He sat away from her and stared down at her. His eyes were red, but otherwise his face was smooth. Katara, however, was still crying and with embarrassment she tried to look away so that he could not see her face. It seemed unfair that she should cry when he was the one experiencing such tragedy. But for a reason that she wouldn't be able to understand for some time to come, she felt the tragedy too.

She jumped when she felt his hand gently take her chin and turn her face toward him. He continued to look at her, expression unreadable. Finally after a long pause he reached up and cupped her face in both of his hands.

"Katara," he began, voice raw, "will you help me kill her?"

His eyes, still managing to gleam despite the rain and the night barely lit by a half full moon, bore into hers with such trust that she knew she was in the most dangerous position she had even been in her life.

"I promise I'll help you kill her."

* * *

It was customary in the Fire Nation to burn the bodies of the dead and spread their ashes across the lands that they had loved the most. Zuko, who couldn't make eye contact with anyone when he ignited the flame that would envelop his uncle, gathered the ashes and swore not to scatter them until the war was over and the land was at peace again. It was almost irrational, the way he clung to the small pot that Katara had given him to use as an urn. He kept it close to where he slept. Katara began to wonder if this was the first time he had handled grief in this sort of capacity before. Prince Zuko had gone through terrible things, but his uncle had always been there for him to fall back on. Now he had no one.

But she hated to think about it. Eventually her thoughts would drift back to the day when they had pushed her mother out to sea in a gesture of finality, the waves of the ocean opening up to swallow her whole.

This was one of the few moments in Katara's young life where she decided to be selfish on purpose. Instead, she focused all of her thoughts on making sure Aang was as much of a water bending master as she was. And then, when that part of her day was over, she and Zuko prepared themselves for the daunting task they had waiting for them. Azula would not go down easily and more than once Katara found herself mulling over the simple truth that she might not come out of the fight alive.

Soon everything would come to a head, and as their days grew more and more numbered Katara finally voiced her thoughts to Zuko. They weren't worries, just simple observations that she could die in this fight and that if that happened then he was supposed to find Aang and make sure that he survived. That they both survived even if she didn't.

He said nothing at first, just stared down at her with an ever growing expression of irritation. Then he muttered something about impossibilities and playing 'the hero' before he grasped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. As he moved away his hand trailed down her arm, his fingers pausing at her wrist before they squeezed that too.

Katara bit her lip and stared down at her hand where he had touched her. She was finally beginning to understand that you could never really prepare yourself to fight a battle you weren't sure you were going to win.

* * *

"—really Zuzu, this has been _so _much fun! I'm almost disappointed to see it coming to an end."

Crackling light caused Katara to jolt back into consciousness, her head ringing. There was a large gash on her temple and she could feel the blood trickling down her face and curving around the edge of her lips. With a great amount of effort she rolled onto her other side.

Azula stood with her back to Katara, Zuko cornered on the ground before her. He looked barely conscious and blood oozed out of his leg from a great slash. The side of his tunic had been ripped open, a long slice across the side of his ribs. Katara vaguely remembered that particular wound coming from one of the Dai Li.

"Now it's just a question of my morality," Azula went on, lightning sparking between her fingertips. "Should I be a kind little sister and kill you now? Or should I treat you like the traitor you are and kill the waterbending filth first? You should really watch me do it too, Zuzu, I've practically made it an art form. But then, that would be so _mean. _Huh. Decisions, decisions."

On that note Zuko made a valiant effort to stand, but his badly injured leg gave out on him. He let out a grunt of pain as he sank to the floor.

"Oh _nice try _big brother," Azula taunted. "It's almost like you have some _honor._" She threw back her head and laughed, therefore not noticing Zuko's widening eyes when he realized that Katara was coherent. She slowly sat up, forcing herself not to cry out as pain shot through her torso. She must have broken a couple of ribs. She caught Zuko's gaze, he looked both panicked and relieved at the same time, if that was even possible. _Go now_, he mouthed, jerking his head toward the exit. She shook her head and nodded pointedly at Azula. She had an idea. His eyes narrowed, but his attention was quickly reverted when Azula sent a shock of lightning in his direction.

As he barely dodged the attack Katara slowly got to her feet, trying with all her might to ignore the pain that coursed throughout her body. As she lifted her arms to do something that she had sworn to herself she'd never do again, Katara had no doubt, _no doubt _that she was going to die. She thought of many things in quick recession: her mother telling her to "Go and get your father sweetie", Sokka and his stupid jokes that always made everyone laugh, Aang kissing her and how she had never told him that he was _like her brother_ but maybe it was best if he thought she loved him even in death, and the boy currently on the other side of the enemy, staring at her with true respect.

She was going to keep the promise that she had given him.

Reaching out with her bending she could feel the blood of the Fire Princess on the edge of her senses and she allowed herself a small smile. _Like my puppet_, she thought, calling the blood to do as she pleased. Azula went rigid, arms stuck out like a scarecrow's. The girl started to scream and curse furiously, trying to unravel herself from Katara's grip to no avail. Zuko dove for something in the corner, face focused.

But Katara could almost feel the energy leaving her. He knees were visibly shaking and she felt as if her arms were going to fall off. Her vision went blurry and she began to panic. _Zuko hurry up_. And in her one moment of distraction Azula whirled around and sent a bolt of blue lightning straight at Katara.

Katara moved out of its direct path, but the bolt still seared her shoulder. White hot pain electrified her body, and Katara's scream of agony mixed with Zuko's cry of horror. The pain blocked her vision and her arms dropped to her side as she fell to her knees. Azula, momentarily distracted by the waterbender in front of her, didn't see her brother grab hold of the dagger he had been searching for, move it into position in his hand and then launch to his feet. She only noticed his presence again when she looked down to see a dagger protruding out of her chest from where he had stabbed her in the back.

She made some sort of choking noise as she sank to the floor. Zuko moved to stand in front of her and she spat blood onto his boots. She made a sound between a laugh and a hiss. "This was unexpected." Then she fell over, dead.

Katara's vision narrowed. She could no longer feel the left side of her body. She was almost grateful, considering the burn on the side of her left shoulder. She hit the floor, the wooden panels jarring her. Everything went black, but not before she felt rather then saw Zuko fall to his knees next to her.

* * *

_Thirsty. So thirsty._

The world around her was red and gold around the edges and when she sat up in order to find the thing she desired she realized she was in a bed of black silk sheets. _These are nice._

And then the previous events rolled over her like a wave. Her eyes darted around the room until they met a pair of golden ones next to the bed, watching her intently. He looked exhausted; the dark circles under his eyes stood out against his pale skin. He nodded toward a low table in the front of the room. "There's a jug of water and some bread on the table."

She moved her left arm in order to pull the blankets off of her when she froze. Pushing up her sleeve she found the skin on her shoulder as smooth as ever. "Hey didn't Azula—"

"I put you in a bath tub. Still a healer, even unconscious."

Her eyes roamed over his leg and she was disappointed to see it heavily bandaged. "I'm sorry—"

He cut her off again. "It doesn't matter." He continued to watch her, eyes tired.

She bit her lip to keep from pushing the issue. Instead she got out of the bed and poured herself a glass of water. After taking a long gulp she turned around to ask Zuko if he wanted a glass too when she found him fast asleep, head lying awkwardly against one shoulder.

It was then Katara realized that he hadn't allowed himself to sleep until he was sure she was going to wake up.

* * *

Katara didn't see Zuko for another two days, so when news of Ozai's death finally reached the palace she celebrated quietly on the balcony overlooking the volcano, relishing the fact that soon she would be going _home._

She was sipping on a cup of some spicy drink that a cherry cheeked servant had handed her a couple of minutes ago. Apparently Ozai hadn't been too popular among the palace. The drink burned as it went down her throat but she continued to sip on it anyway.

"Having fun?"

She jerked around to see Zuko limping up to her, hair down and a small smirk across his lips. She shrugged and pushed against his shoulder good naturally when he reached her. His smirk turned into a smile as he propped himself up so he could lean against the balcony.

"You're Fire Lord now."

"I know."

"Are you excited?"

When he didn't answer immediately she turned her head to look at him. He was watching her with a thoughtful expression, the corner of his mouth pulled down. After a beat he sighed and looked away from her. "There will be ups and downs. I just wish Uncle was here to see it, to see how everything played out."

"I'm sure he sees it. Just liked mom." She reached up to fondle her mother's necklace resting at her throat. "I'm sure they both know exactly what's going on." She reached out and grabbed Zuko's hand. "He's proud of you," she said quietly.

Zuko turned back to look at her, eyes watering. He closed them before the tears could fall. "Thank you Katara," he whispered. "For everything."

She moved in for a hug and as she wrapped her arms around him she felt him relax under her embrace. His arms moved to encircle her and his head rested atop of hers. Her eyes fluttered shut when she laid her head against his chest. She heard him breathe out a sigh of contentment and she smiled.

"You're welcome."


End file.
